Tim Grobaty: Rae Gabelich brings council career to a close

Rae Gabelich is the two-term city councilwoman in Long Beach's 8th District. She leaves office on July 17.

Q: So, can I pencil you in as a candidate for mayor of Long Beach?

A: I'm going to go to Hawaii, the Big Island, in October and think about it for two months. I can't make a decision here in town. It's too easy to get caught up in the energy of it. I have to think about it someplace quiet. I have two sisters that live in Hawaii, so I'll be with them, but I'll have my own place.

Q: What's to think about?

A: The last year, maybe two, have been very difficult. Look, I love my job and I dedicate myself to it 100 percent. I don't see my family much; I don't see my friends; I don't have outside interests. But I have a 95-year-old mother-in-law to take care of. I'm all she has. It's why I didn't run a write-in campaign. That, plus I think the voters have made it clear they're for term limits.

Q: Do you think you would've won a write-in campaign?

A: I think so, but do I want to sit there for the next two years and fight every Tuesday? That's not how I want to end my career.

Q: You'd certainly fight every Tuesday as mayor.

A: It's a lot of work. Way more than being on the council. But I need to think about how I would do it. Beverly O'Neill did a great job as the city's cheerleader. Bob Foster does it more in a CEO fashion. I have to think about whether it is good for me and am I good for the position.

Q: You've had a tough district to run. In the 5th, where I live, everyone makes exactly the same amount of money, plus or minus 50 bucks. A trained chicken could run it. You've got a huge gap between the wealthiest and some of the poorest people in the city.

A: I look at the 8th as a microcosm of the city. There's great wealth in Los Cerritos and the Country Club, and then we have Carmelitos and North Point - some pretty gang-infested areas.

Q: How do you deal with all those disparate needs?

A: You just have to look at each one individually. In Los Cerritos, the people care about sidewalks, tree-trimming and street repairs. It gets more complex in the north. We started with more than 20 Neighborhood Watch groups. That program is gone now, unfortunately, but we've tried to keep neighborhood groups going. The problem is, they start up when something bad happens, then the people lose interest. But (incoming 8th District Councilman) Al Austin is working on building neighborhood associations to engage people more actively.

Q: How do you and Al get along?

A: Very well. He said there are some things he will do differently. I wouldn't expect him not to.

Q: How about you and Bob Foster?

A: (*crickets*)

Q: Not so hot?

A: We're civil to each other. The other night he said, "I don't know why you think I don't like you." We have differences of opinion, and I'm not afraid to say it. That's the problem we have.

Q: What differences?

A: The most difficult situation in my eight years on the council was the whole redisricting fiasco, with much of Bixby Knolls taken from the 8th and given to James Johnson in the 7th. That had a horrible impact on my community. That was politics at its worst.

Q: So, do you like James Johnson at all?

A: No. Not at all. Not at all. I don't like people who manipulate others or only represent their own cause. That's why I could never go to Sacramento.

Q: So if you do run for mayor and win, that'll be the highest office you'll ever have?

A: Yes.

Q: And if you don't run, or if you lose?

A: I'm not going away. I've been involved with the city since 1985, when I was appointed to the health and human services board, then I served eight years on the Parks and Recreation Commission, then I was on HUSH and I started HUSH2 to limit flights to the airport. We tried and tried, and when the city didn't do anything, I decided to run for office. The airport issue was what I ran on.

Q: What issue would be your main one if and when you run for mayor?

A: Measure J (the Utility User Tax cut) was approved by voters and it took $40million out of the general fund. We'd be sitting pretty good today if that hadn't passed. I think that should be put before the voters again.

Q: In the old days, Long Beach voted to pay for things all the time - parks, schools, piers, whatever. I'm not sure they'll do that anymore when so many people equate tax with waste and not with services.

A: The big part would be the educational campaign that would go with it. We're at a point now where we have to ask what kind of city do you want to live in and what will you pay for it. When I go to community meetings and I ask how many would support an increase in utility tax to $12.50 a month to pay for public safety and infrastructure, 98 percent raise their hands.

Q: But those are largely people who care more about their neighborhoods.

A: Well, you wonder if people aren't smart enough, at least give them the chance. Show them what will happen. Parks may become passive parks, with no programs for kids. The Municipal Band is on the block almost every year now. The pieces that make the city what it is, they're going to be gone. Now, aren't you going to ask me the Big Question?